Tiegan, seven, breaks ankle at Chalkwell Fair

A GIRL has had her family holiday ruined after breaking her ankle at Chalkwell Fair.

Tiegan Jackson, seven, landed badly on a ball while bouncing on the trampoline in one of the enclosures on the first day of the fair, at Chalkwell Park.

In immense pain and unable to put weight on her foot, she was taken by mum Kelly Ilett, 31, to A&E, where she was found to have broken her ankle and had a temporary cast put on.

The family had been worried the injury could scupper their £3,500 holiday to Tunisia, which they left for on Sunday, as her fitness to fly was not guaranteed after having a permanent cast fitted on Saturday.

Before leaving, Miss Ilett, of Denton Avenue, Westcliff, said: “She’s in a lot of pain and, if you’re flying within 48 hours of having a cast fitted, you need a doctor’s certificate.

“So we’re hoping we’re not going to have to cancel it, because it’s been booked since last April and has cost a lot money.

“Even if we do go, it’s ruined for her – she’s not going to be able to do anything.

“We’ve been looking forward to this and it’s our other daughter’s 12th birthday while we’re away, but Tiegan is going to have to just watch her sisters have fun – it’s going to be so boring for her.”

A spokesman for Southend Carnivals said the incident was not reported to staff at the time, but that procedures were in place for dealing with such accidents to ensure a safe environment.

He added: “We had nothing reported whatsoever on Thursday, but we have everything in place to deal with incidents like this.

“It’s a fairly small site, but we have a large first aid team and security guards patrolling the site – it’s designed to be a safe environment.

“All the rides and attractions have health and safety checks, meeting and exceeding any requirements of health and safety certificates.”

Miss Ilett said she would be looking into claiming compensation for the accident and expressed misgivings about the presence of balls on the trampoline.

She said: “There were lots of big, bouncy, balls and I didn’t think anything of it, but then I sawher jump up and a ball rolled beneath her foot, her ankle went and she fell backwards – her whole body went over her head.